May 06, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government is considering to introduce the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

The local media has reported that the amendment is aimed at reducing the terms of the President and the Chief Justice.

The President's term of office is to be reduced to five years while the tenure of the Chief Justice is to be limited to five years as well.

At present, a President could hold office for six years while the Chief Justice does not have a time limit to hold office, but has to retire at the age of 65.

However, a limit has not been imposed on the number of times a President could be elected to office.

A 19th Amendment to the Constitution has also been considered as a solution to the current national issue of power devolution, and according to the media, the 19th Amendment will limit the powers vested with the provincial councils under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Therefore, land and police powers vested with the provincial councils will be repealed under the new Constitutional amendment.

Several government circles have pointed out the need to amend the Constitution and the government has accordingly made the decision to introduce the new amendment.

The proposed amendment is currently being drafted and will be sent to the Attorney General's Department in the next few weeks.